--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together." description: "\"Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg" --- # Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together. ![“Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg) > “Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gandhi asserts that true nonviolence requires courage; cowardice is the opposite of genuine peaceful resistance. **In simple terms:** Nonviolence needs courage, not cowardice. Key Takeaway Practice brave, peaceful action. Themes peace courage nonviolence ethics Mood determined reflective inspirational Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - conflict resolution - personal ethics Key Concepts political philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does courage look like in your daily life? - How can you distinguish true nonviolence from avoidance? A Different Perspective May ignore nuanced motivations behind nonviolent actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Nonviolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) ## Related quotes > [Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together. True nonviolence is an impossibility without the possession of unadulterated fearlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-together-true-nonviolence-is-an/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolence is the greatest virtue, cowardice the greatest vice - nonviolence springs from love, cowardice from hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-the-greatest-virtue-cowardice-the-greatest-vice/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The trouble is that nonviolence is so often defined as refusal to fight, and that is the American definition of cowardice. In fact, marching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/the-trouble-is-that-nonviolence-is-so-often-defined-as-refusal-to/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. I would rather have India resort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-believe-that-where-there-is-only-a-choice-between-cowardice-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Truth stands for the fact, nonviolence negates the fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/truth-stands-for-the-fact-nonviolence-negates-the-fact/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolence is not an easy thing to understand, still less to practice, weak as we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-not-an-easy-thing-to-understand-still-less-to-practice/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is much more difficult to live for nonviolence than to die for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-much-more-difficult-to-live-for-nonviolence-than-to-die-for-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolence is the rock on which the whole structure of non-co-operation is built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-the-rock-on-which-the-whole-structure-of-non-co/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [When you want to find Truth as God, the only inevitable means is love, that is nonviolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/when-you-want-to-find-truth-as-god-the-only-inevitable-means-is-love/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of nonviolence does not dominate millions of men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-cry-for-peace-will-be-a-cry-in-the-wilderness-so-long-as-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolence in the sense of mere non-killing does not appear to me, therefore, to be of any improvement on the technique of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-in-the-sense-of-mere-non-killing-does-not-appear-to-me/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [True nonviolence is mightier than the mightiest violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/true-nonviolence-is-mightier-than-the-mightiest-violence/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The first condition of nonviolence is justice all round, in every department of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-first-condition-of-nonviolence-is-justice-all-round-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Every moment of my existence is dedicated to the winning of Swaraj by means of truth and nonviolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/every-moment-of-my-existence-is-dedicated-to-the-winning-of-swaraj-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The Attainment of freedom, whether for a person, a nation or a world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of nonviolence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-attainment-of-freedom-whether-for-a-person-a-nation-or-a-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Coward quotes > [Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/only-a-coward-will-use-a-gun-to-protect-and-get-respect-for-themselves/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [“The Coward will run away from danger, only to strike in the dark. The Heroine will run through the dark, even though she knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-cleinman/the-coward-will-run-away-from-danger-only-to-strike-in-the-dark-the/) David A. Cleinman > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) Suad Amiry > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“It is true that only a coward can be brave, as a man who feels no fear has conquered nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conn-david-iggulden/it-is-true-that-only-a-coward-can-be-brave-as-a-man-who-feels-no-fear/) Conn & David Iggulden > [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. If you're a sharer, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/if-you-re-a-generous-person-when-you-get-money-and-fame-you-re-going/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [Where is the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land as Scotland?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-is-the-coward-that-would-not-dare-to-fight-for-such-a-land-as/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/people-who-keep-dogs-are-cowards-who-haven-t-got-the-guts-to-bite/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [It is the disease of cowards, who do not have the courage to speak upfront and so talk behind one's back... Watch out against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-is-the-disease-of-cowards-who-do-not-have-the-courage-to-speak/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [If our principles are right, why should we be cowards?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/if-our-principles-are-right-why-should-we-be-cowards/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [A coward is the kindest animal; 'Tis the most forgiving creature in a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-coward-is-the-kindest-animal-tis-the-most-forgiving-creature-in-a/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) Browse all 1,331 Coward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-together/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-together/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/mahatma-gandhi-23_coward_nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-togethe_2002457.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.” — Mahatma Gandhi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nonviolence and cowardice go ill together.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-together/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-and-cowardice-go-ill-together/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```